R Bar’s happy hour menu is like that ex-girlfriend who gave you mixed messages all the time.

She loves you so much, offering mini-priced snacks that are both salty (olives and feta) and sweet (mmm, Brussels sprouts). But then her affections stray, leaving you with a glass of red or white wine for $6.

Let’s be honest. $6 isn’t a bad price for a glass of wine. But at a chill happy hour on East Colfax Avenue? It’s too much, especially since R Bar – positioned next to Trattoria Stella’s east location — also offers its well drinks for $3.50.

It’s a quibble, for sure. And that’s because this handsome, wood-warmed room — the former bar area for Cafe Star — is a pleasure to be in. Long tables encourage conversation. A good-sized bar and a friendly but busy staff feed the thirsty. And the small patio out front? Well, it looks hungry for good weather — and the shoulder-to-shoulder company that comes along with that.

Our drinks during a recent visit to R Bar were well made and healthily poured. My cocktails brushed away the work-all-week blues, and our bartender/server was there when we needed him, distanced when we were doing our own thing.

But the small-plate snacks were the highlight.

Both of us had dinner plans, but we also didn’t want to drink on an empty stomach. And the olives and feta plate is something I would order every day of the week, if given the opportunity. Pitted Kalamata olives dotted with gooey, mozzarella-like feta filled out a surprisingly generous order. The presentation, in a sharp paisley dish, was elegant without being pretentious. And the Brussels sprouts were the perfect accompaniment. Was it brown sugar in there? I couldn’t quite tell, but it gave them an injection of sweetness that was as unexpected as it was delightful.

While noshing and catching up at the bar recently, a colleague and I pondered the demise of Star Bar, which had a been a go-to dining spot for she and her family — and which was owned by the same couple who runs both Trattoria Stellas.

“Do you think it was too expensive for this part of Colfax?” she asked.

And I wondered. When I’m on that bit of Colfax Avenue, I’m hitting a show at the Bluebird Theater, I’m grabbing Thai at Tommy’s, I’m sliding into a booth at my favorite Denver bar, the PS Lounge, or I’m doing the $1 tacos thing at Mezcal after 10 p.m. It’s one of my favorite stretches in Denver. I don’t think Star was too expensive for East Colfax Avenue. I just don’t think it was right.

R Bar is a good fit here. You have the randomness of RockBar, the friendliness of the Atomic Cowboy and now the handsomeness and warmth of R Bar.

Given what a glass of wine costs at most Denver restaurants, $6 is in fact reasonable if it is a good quality wine. East Colfax has plenty of budget options for the younger set, but maybe the slightly older crowd would rather pay more to get more . . . .